


In the Gardens

by Berin



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: 100 percent organic fluff, Canon Compliant, M/M, laurent is a cute boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 03:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11706072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Berin/pseuds/Berin
Summary: Set shortly before the start of The Summer Palace, this short fic details Laurent arrival and preparations for a lovelyhoneymoonvacationMy contribution for the CapriWeek2k17 prompts Gardens / “You were watching the road.” and my very first fic~





	In the Gardens

At noon on a fine summer day, Laurent entered the summer palace. After enduring an arduous horse ride in the torrid Akielon heat, the entrance hall provided a cool retreat. Damen wasn’t there yet. Laurent arrived half a day early, not only because Damen would have been too busy to come before him but also, he had to admit, because he looked forward to the days that lay ahead. His excitement had gained the upper hand and spurred him on to make preparations for their joint stay here.

He took a bath upon his arrival to rid himself of the dust and dirt of the journey and to cool down after almost suffocating in his Veretian clothing. The unrelentingly hot weather had taken its toll on him during his stay in the capital, and changing into Akielon clothes hadn’t helped much. Damen's reaction when seeing him in his homeland’s traditional clothing had been amusing but wearing a chiton in the glaring sun had brought him nothing but sunburns and Damen rubbing soothing creams on his back while he could do nothing but pout silently. That would not be the case here, as the gardens were shadowy and bearable. Laurent looked forward to receiving Damen in a pure white chiton of unadorned cotton, a bit shorter than the ones he had worn before, upon his request. 

Wearing his new, more revealing wardrobe, he made to explore the estate he would be staying in for the next two weeks, but not before making absolutely sure that everything would be perfect.  
"Prepare the baths for the King’s arrival. And bring refreshments to the king’s chambers, including a few apricots and oranges. Are the sheets fresh?" he said in his usual tone to the head servant next to him.  
“Of course, Exalted. We put the finest sheets on it just today,” then, a bit hesitantly “Do you require the oil to be refilled?”  
“What did you think we were going to do in here? Playing cards? Double the amount.”, he replied cooly. Once he was content with the preparations, he left to take a look at the gardens.

The palace was busy with activity, servants hurrying to prepare for two royal sovereigns' leisurely vacation here after the stressful weeks following the trial at the Kingsmeet. Servants were everywhere but no slaves, as Damen was recklessly quick to follow through on his decision to rid Akielos of slavery.  
They would eventually have to deal with the backlash of this and many other problems caused by the (of course) not entirely positive reception of the new long-term alliance. Damen had yet to assess the loyalty of the Kyroi and so, shortly after his ascension, the political landscape of the country was still shaky.  
Being here at this time was highly unwise. Laurent knew this. But despite the importance of these matters he immediately agreed when Damen suggested coming here. And now, it wasn’t hard at all for Laurent to comfortably explore the garden with its shady trees and unfamiliar flowers while clearing his head of any concerns, safe for the ones pertaining the activities he had planned for the two of them.

Not too long after deciding upon this break, Laurent had taken the trouble to persuade Nikandros to teach him Damen’s favourite sport. His lover’s best friend was understandably on bad terms with him - and they were still not much better off than before - , but throughout his secret wrestling lessons, Laurent had come to know his better qualities beyond the unshakeable loyalty he had already proven on many occasions.  
Thinking back on the absurd amount of effort he put in all of this, he suddenly realised how unusual this was for him, this feeling of anxious joy welling quietly up inside, overshadowing any worries he had before. This all almost did not feel real, like a dream he for a very long time didn’t even dare to imagine.

Despite the unadorned aesthetic of Akielon architecture, Laurent found himself silently admiring the statues scattered across the gardens, serving as decoration along the paths, in corners, between lush greenery and flowers and on the water fountains, depicting personalities from myths and legends, or of Akielon history. He stood before the statue of a proud woman towering above him, pointing to the east, towards the ocean. Her high cheekbones and straight nose gave her a noble appearance but her features, especially her gentle eyes, bore an uncanny resemblance to his lover. His thoughts were confirmed once he was able to tear his gaze from the art work and look down at the inscriptions on the base of the statue, declaring her Queen Egeria, designer of these gardens. Laurent wondered what kind of stories Damen would tell him of his mother.

He turned away and walked towards the southernmost balcony. Leaning on the sturdy white stone, he looked over the wide plains in front of him, the rocky road leading to this palace. He had come here using this route and soon, Damen would come along this way to see him. Any moment now, hopefully.  
This was ridiculous, Laurent thought. He couldn't remember ever awaiting someone so impatiently.

When he was a child, he would have sometimes waited for Auguste to return from one of his meetings. He used to run right up to him as soon as he appeared in the door and tug on his sleeve, leading him to the horse stalls for a ride. But that was nothing compared to what he felt now.  
Damen, being as he was, would probably spare neither trouble nor expense to race here as fast as he could. Laurent would probably hear the galloping of a war-horse that matched Damen’s impressive brawn from miles away before he would appear way before the rest of his entourage right there on the horizon-  
Laurent caught himself staring at that same spot again. Annoyed at his own childishness, he briefly turned away, just to look back a moment later. He was thankful to be alone in that moment. He didn’t know how long he waited in that manner, as his thoughts went to recalling and double checking whether everything was properly prepared and sometimes began to drift uncharacteristically again, imagining his lover’s arrival.  
Just then, he heard steps behind him. They stopped a short distance from the balcony, and Laurent did not bother to turn.  
"Tell me as soon as the King approaches, I want to be informed right away." he said in a dismissive tone, keeping his gaze steady on the road. There was a silence in which there was nothing to hear but the rustling of leaves in the wind. And then "It's not a servant," in a very familiar voice. He felt his shock in the way his heart started pounding suddenly but willed himself to not turn abruptly - Laurent wouldn’t give him the pleasure of seeing his open surprise. He took a short second to steady himself, turned and looked at Damen.


End file.
